KABUL (SW) – With no green light from the Taliban so far, the US, Turkey and partners have intensified diplomatic maneuvers to ensure the Istanbul conference on peace in Afghanistan takes place.
The proposed conference was set to take place in Istanbul last month, but the Taliban’s reluctance to attend the meet forced the host Turkey to postpone it.
A senior State Department official told Salam Watandar that Washington was strengthening diplomacy around Afghanistan and to deeply involve international community for a better future for Afghanistan. “In the discussion we have with the Afghanistan neighbors, all want an Afghanistan at peace and stable, they value and support the Islamic Republic, and express in disinterest in the restoration of the Islamic Emirate”, said the US official.
Recently, top US peace broker, Zalmay Khalilzad travelled to Turkey, Pakistan, India and Central Asia in connection with the Afghan peace process.
The US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad visited Kabul May 3 to meet with Afghan government, political, and civil society leaders to discuss America’s enduring partnership with Afghanistan. “Only a negotiated settlement can end over 40 years of war in Afhganistan”, said a statement issued by the US Embassy in Kabul on this occasion.
Earlier, the U.S. State Department said on March 27 that Khalilzad “will build on recent efforts by regional and international partners to encourage the two Afghan parties to accelerate their negotiations to end the conflict.”
The trips came as President Joe Biden announced to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by September 2021.
The State Department official said all US agencies and the Embassy would continue its diplomacy and the large and robust economic and humanitarian activities. The official told Salam Watandar that Washington was ‘not giving up on Afghanistan’.
Last month, the Governments of the United States of America, the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China, and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the occasion of the Extended “Troika” on Peaceful Settlement in Afghanistan issued a 14-point joint statement on Afghanistan that called on all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan to reduce the level of violence.
It also expressed support for a review of the status of designations of Taliban individuals and entities on the UN 1988 sanctions, as stated in the UNSC resolution 2513 (2020). “Practical measures to reduce violence and sustained efforts to advance intra-Afghan negotiations by the Taliban will positively affect this review process”, it said.
The US official said in this regard that the Taliban need to get back to the negotiation table for such issues to be resolved.
ENDS
